Adventures in Nanjing

Due to sporadic Internet connection I haven't been able to write daily posts so here's a summary of the several adventures we've had so far in Nanjing. It's been exactly a week since we first arrived in Nanjing , but it feels like much longer than that! Aside from adventures in our culture class we have plenty of free time to experience Nanjing for ourselves. Even just getting three meals a day is an adventure (we're given meal allowance, but besides that we're on our own!). We've had some great local Chinese food from nearby streets and restaurants, one street known by the university students as "Bird Flu Alley". I've also experienced the classicChinese food induced upset stomach... but hey, a person can't consider a trip to China complete without the food sickness aspect!A few days ago I went with a couple of my friends to a Chinese masseuse, which was quite an experience. The masseuses were blind, which at first seemed risky but the massages were amazing. It makes so much sense to have a blind masseuse, someone who's sense of touch is much stronger than a person with their vision.

Our culture class also took us to Xuanwu Lake where we rented peddle boats and hung out on the lake for a few hours. We also went to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum which was quite beautiful but had tons of stairs! It also had an open music forum full of doves. The forum played music such as Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson...ironic how american culture followed us all the way to a mausoleum in China!